Trying To Get Home
by Wren Rainsair
Summary: Squall is constantly plagued by an evil sorceress who tortures him by taking him away from his girlfriend and making him deal with some interesting people... VII and VIII crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Final Fantasy, though I am similar to an infinite number of fangirls in wishing that I did. Square-Enix owns the characters.

Note: This takes place during Advent Children, and may contain slight spoilers, though the story is most definitely going to vary from the Advent Children storyline. This was also written before I saw Advent Children, so the disease known as Geostigma will have different effects than portrayed in the movie.

**Trying To Get Home**

Squall Leonhart, age 18, woke up and was immediately confused. He didn't remember being asleep outside all alone. The last thing he remembered was saying a quick goodnight to Rinoa, his girlfriend, and then falling asleep in his bed. So why the heck was he here?

He stood up to survey his surroundings, finding them quite bleak and drab, with little vegetation and a lot of rocks. There weren't any people either, nor signs of civilization in any direction. Just bleak wasteland. He was starting to wonder if this was some weird dream, and he expected to be woken up by Rinoa any moment, so he figured he might as well do _something_. He began walking in a direction, though he wasn't quite sure what direction it was, but if it was a dream, it really didn't matter. If it wasn't... well... he really didn't want to think about it.

A few hours later, he was hot and exhausted. He'd been fighting monsters that he'd never seen before, and though he wasn't really struggling with them, he'd been fighting a long time. It was almost comforting, though, that there were monsters here. It helped this place seem like his own world, not some other world. He shook his head to clear it. What was he thinking? Of course this was his own world. It's not like there were others or anything, nor would he have been able to get to them if there were. Especially not in his sleep.

Squall was just about to give up for the night, and sleep where he was, regardless of the danger, when he noticed a small campfire ahead. He shrugged, and decided to go investigate, since monsters generally did not build campfires. He approached quietly, going unnoticed by the owners of the fire, one man with incredibly spikey blond hair and a huge sword, a girl with long brunette hair and fighting gloves, and an odd man with black hair and a red cloak.

As he approached, both the blond-haired man and the black-haired man turned to look at him, noticing his presence, which caused the brunette to look curiously as well.

"Hello, traveler... want to have a seat?" The blond spoke up first, gesturing to an empty spot.

"No thank you. I'd just like to ask a few questions, and then I'll be on my way." Squall answered stiffly, wishing he didn't have to talk to people. Conversing didn't happen to be his strong point.

The blond raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. "Alright. What do you want to know? Oh, but first, my name's Cloud Strife." Cloud stood and shook Squall's hand. Squall suppressed a snicker at Cloud's odd name.

"I'm Squall." He replied. The black-haired man snickered softly, and Squall glared.

"Don't mind Vincent." Cloud waved in the black-haired man's direction. "I'm sure he wasn't laughing at you." He glared at Vincent, as if threatening him to say otherwise. Vincent kept silent, never looking up.

Squall shrugged it off, and asked, "Where am I? I mean... what town is the closest?"

"Midgar." Was Cloud's reply, which threw Squall for a loop.

Where the heck was Midgar? His face remained passive, and he nodded and asked, "Where is the nearest garden from here?"

Cloud's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Garden? As in a flower garden? Well... there's one in sector 6 of Midgar..."

Squall shook his head. "No, I mean a military garden. You know, you go in, pay for a mercenary, and they do stuff for you." Cloud looked confused, which Squall took as a bad sign.

"I don't think we have anything like that anywhere..." Cloud answered, shaking his head.

Squall sighed inwardly. What sort of backwards place was he in, anyway? Gardens were practically everywhere. For the residents to not at least hear of them... He really was far away from home.

Squall's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a new person, another female. She wore a long black dress with a floral pattern around the bottom, and a low v-cut neckline, and a black turtleneck sweater underneath. She smirked, and grinned, "Hello, Squally. I hope you like this world, because you aren't going to leave it."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy. Sadly.

Note: This is the second chapter! Please enjoy it, and read and review! I apologize in advance if any of the characters seem out of character.

Chapter 2

Squall stared in amazement at the lady that just appeared. "S...Squally?" He stammered angrily. Only Rinoa called him that, and he only tolerated it because she was his girlfriend. The lady grinned. "Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Sorceress Adel's successor, Sorceress Saori, and it is my pleasure to take back what your girlfriend stole from me."

Before he could stop himself, Squall said, "Rinoa doesn't steal." He then mentally cursed himself for being stupid and allowing that to slip out, though he was desperate to figure out what was going on and get back to Rinoa, and reluctant though he was to admit it, he also wanted to get back to the others.

The sorceress laughed. "You are so cute, Squally. Your little girlfriend stole the powers that I should have rightfully inherited from Adel. I'm going to get them from her, in the most painful way possible, by imitating you, then killing her, leaving her with a sense of betrayal as she dies."

Squall vaguely thought it interesting that all villains gave away their evil plans, but this wasn't really the time to point that out. He narrowed his eyes at the sorceress. "Leave Rinoa alone. It's not her fault Adel went after her." He pulls out his gunblade, which he was glad he still had. "If you want to fight, though, bring it."

The sorceress laughed again, which Squall was starting to find really annoying. "Oh, Squally, you're just too much. Of course, we'll fight eventually. For now, why don't you just stay with your new friends." She gestures at Cloud, Vincent and Tifa. "If you don't, I'll just kill your girlfriend now, and spare myself the fun."

Squall's temper flared. "Leave Rinoa alone!" He yelled, attacking the sorceress with his gunblade. The sorceress quickly dodged, then blasted Squall with a bolt spell. "Like I said, stay here, with your new friends, and both of you will live. If you don't, well... I'm sure you know what will happen." She smirked, and disappeared with a loud cracking noise.

Tifa looked once at Cloud before running over to Squall, who was picking himself up off the ground. "Are you okay, Squall?" She asks. He looks away, and gives his trademark line whenever asked about his condition. "Whatever."

"Well, I'm Tifa Lockhart. And since it sounds like you'll be staying with us a while, welcome to the group." She smiles warmly. Squall didn't say anything. Cloud shrugs. "Well... we're just about to rest... I guess since your girlfriend's life is in danger, you can stay with us." Squall shook his head. "I'm not going to be a burden to anyone. I'll just be going."

"But, your girlfriend! That lady said she'd kill her if you left! We don't mind if you stay, really!" Tifa protests.

"Just let him go." The man in red, who Squall vaguely remembered as being called Vincent, spoke up. Squall couldn't help but be strongly reminded of a vampire.

"But Vincent, that woman was serious." Tifa protests.

Cloud sighs. He didn't want to be the cause of anyone's death, no matter how troublesome it was to him. "Don't listen to Vincent... stay here." He says, sounding somewhat exasperated.

Squall could see no other choice. He really didn't want to test the sorceress' word, especially not if it meant Rinoa was in danger. "Alright. I'll stay." He sighs.

Notes: End of chapter 2! Yay! Oh, and sorry for forgetting to mention, but this is based off of an RP with my cousin, so I didn't make all of it up.

I made the sorceress up, so she is my own character. All other characters belong to Square Enix, as stated above.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy characters.

Notes: Sorry this one took so long! The holidays hit, and I accumulated a bit of writer's block, and once I had cured my writer's block, my internet stopped working for several days... isn't life great? Anyway, hopefully the length will make up for the lack of new material. Oh, and this is where Geostigma gets a bit weird. I was planning this before I saw the movie, so I went with whatever sounded funniest. Sorry if it bothers you.

Chapter 3

Cloud rose early the next morning, due to a sharp pain in his left arm. Lifting the cover he wore over it, he wasn't very surprised to find that the dark bruise had spread and was leaking a bit of a black, tar-like substance. He quickly checked to see if anyone else was awake, and when he confirmed that he was alone, he bandaged his arm and replaced the cover.

Eventually, Tifa woke, and smiled at Cloud when she saw he was awake. "Good morning, Cloud. If you start a fire, I'll start some breakfast."

Cloud nodded. "Sure thing, Tifa." As he set flint to steel to create sparks, Vincent woke up as well.

"Good morning, Vincent." Tifa said pleasantly, only to be answered by silence, which she was accustomed to. It seemed like a perfectly normal morning, bright, clear, and all three of them were together like usual.

Then Squall woke up, and sat by the new fire grumpily.

"Hey, Squall, grab that log for me." Cloud requested.

"Get it yourself. Just because I'm stuck with you guys doesn't mean I have to do all your stuff for you." Squall said grumpily, not used to waking up that early in the morning. Sure, he could do it, but sleeping in was more his style.

Cloud sent a quick glare at Squall, while walking over to get the log himself. He didn't mind having Squall there, but if he was going to cause problems, he was going to get kicked out no matter who was making him stay there.

As Tifa started breakfast, Vincent came at sat by Squall, much to Squall's annoyance. However, as long as Vincent didn't start talking or anything, he was sure he could endure it.

Vincent, however, did not seem to have any intention of remaining silent. He didn't instigate conversation often, but when he did talk, he usually talked quite a bit. Luckily, everything he said was also important. "I know you don't like us, but unless you want whoever Rinoa is to die, then you had best do your best to contribute. Free-loaders won't be tolerated in the camp, meaning you can just kiss Rinoa goodbye. Although, you really can't, since she isn't here." Vincent said quietly, with a hint of a threat in his voice.

"You think I don't know that?" Squall snapped. "I don't need a vampire like you reminding me, either. I can take care of myself, thank you very much." 'I wish the stupid vampire would just leave me to my own business... why do these guys hang out with him, anyway? He's probably hypnotizing them so he has some friends.' Squall thought vehemently, smirking mentally, but he kept his facial features expressionless.

"For your information, I am not a vampire, and I can't hypnotize people." Vincent replied casually, used to this type of treatment, especially after dealing with Cid Highwind, a former member of their little band that had beaten Sephiroth two years before. "These two don't 'hang out' with me, I 'hang out' with them."

"Oh, sure... that's what you say..." Squall countered sarcastically, before realizing what was wrong with the whole scenario. He didn't remember saying all of that out loud; in fact, he was positive he didn't. So, the vampire could read minds! He groaned inwardly. This was getting worse by the second.

Vincent merely smirked, though you couldn't really tell because of the high collar on his cloak.

"Alright, you two. Stop fighting. Breakfast is ready." Tifa said in a motherly tone, giving all of them bowls of a porridge-like substance. Everyone ate, since Tifa wouldn't allow it to be any different.

After breakfast, and after they cleaned up their campsite (with Squall's unwilling help), they set out toward Midgar, home to Tifa's bar, Seventh Heaven. On the way, Cloud noticed a dull ache in his left arm, the one he was carefully hiding from Tifa. He groaned inwardly, and hoped it wouldn't get worse, but of course, diseases don't listen to the wishes of the infected. Some time later, the pain became so bad he couldn't help but collapse to one knee and clutch his arm and bite his lip to keep from crying out.

"Cloud! Are you okay?" Tifa cried out worriedly, kneeling next to him.

Cloud merely shook his head in response, not trusting his voice, while Vincent calmly watched, not moving to help. Squall was quick to notice Vincent's lack of concern for his injured friend. "I thought you and Cloud were friends." He said accusingly, trying to find a way to get under the annoying vampire's skin.

"We are, I suppose." Vincent replied after a moment. "I am still here, after all."

"Well, if you are friends, why aren't you helping him? He looks hurt." Squall prodded.

"And what would I do? Everyone knows that there is no cure, and the only thing you can do is wait for it to pass."

"'It'?" Squall asked, curious despite himself.

"Geostigma. A disease that afflicts many on this world, brought out by the abominable thing that heaven sent, Jenova. The crisis of the skies." Vincent explained.

"Then, why don't you just go get rid of Jenova? I mean, you all are mercenaries or something, which I imagine means that you can fight."

"We did. Which leads us to our current problem. Jenova is inside the Lifestream, meaning she can enter the souls of people coming into the world. Geostigma is the disease that this planet created to eliminate Jenova cells from people like Cloud or children who were born after Jenova's cells infested the Lifestream." Vincent explained somewhat rapidly.

Squall was silent for a moment, trying to digest all of the new information. It was extremely confusing to him, since on his planet he didn't have anything like 'Lifestream's, or 'Jenova's. It also reinforced the information that he was truly on another world, bringing an unexpected bout of homesickness, which he shook away with a shake of his head. He opened his mouth to ask another question, but was interrupted by an angry shout from Cloud.

"Just leave me alone, Tifa! I don't need your nagging and mothering!" He yelled, pushing her away.

Tifa looked crushed, and had a difficult time keeping the tears from her eyes. Sure, Cloud had gotten angry before, but never at _her_. She couldn't believe he had just shouted at her. She turned away, so Cloud couldn't see her distress. "Fine, Cloud, if that's what you want."

Cloud glared, "Yeah, I do. Stop gaping like an idiot." He snapped at Squall, then sent a glare at Vincent as well, while Vincent went to Tifa's side to calm her.

"Tifa, the Geostigma is affecting him, which is why he isn't acting like himself." Vincent said quietly, to keep Cloud from hearing.

Tifa sniffled, and looked up into Vincent's red-hued eyes. "He has Geostigma? Why didn't he tell me?"

Vincent shrugged. "Cloud's reasons are his own." He walked after Cloud silently, keeping his distance from the angry man.

Squall raised an eyebrow at Cloud's back as Cloud stomped off. This guy seemed to have some serious mental issues. One minute he was all buddy-buddy, and the next he was pushing his girlfriend away, the only one who was trying to help him. Of course, that just showed why Tifa would be the only one who would help him. He shrugged, and followed Cloud and Vincent, expecting Tifa to do whatever she wanted. It wasn't any of his business, really.

Notes: Well, I hope you enjoyed chapter three! As stated above, this is where Geostigma gets weird. Please be patient, and hopefully I'll be able to make it funnier, unless you would prefer a more serious story-line. Please Review, and I'll do my best!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I only own one of the characters in this fiction, and that's the Sorceress, who is my own creation as far as I know. All Final Fantasy characters are not mine!

Notes: Thank you for the reviews of the previous chapters! Please Read and Review! I'd appreciate it!

Chapter 4

"We should head to Junon." Vincent spoke up to Cloud out of the blue, several hours after Cloud's outburst.

"And why is that?" Cloud snapped, still obviously angry.

"Because, if we want to get Squall home, the first place we should check is in Shinra Mansion, on the continent across the sea. Since Cid has the Highwind, we need to head to Junon to catch the boat to the other continent." Vincent explained patiently.

"Why do we need to get Squall home? Why can't he just do it himself?" Cloud demanded.

"Cloud! Be nice!" Tifa scolded, her hands on her hips, making her look very motherly.

Squall couldn't believe it. He usually ignored people, and he didn't care how they acted, but Cloud was just being a jerk. "I never asked you to help me, nor did I ask to come here." He said calmly, sending an icy glare in Cloud's direction. "However, if you want to be responsible for an innocent girl's death, then go ahead and send me away. You heard the sorceress before. She'll kill Rinoa if I leave."

"Tch. I bet you're working with that lady to spy on us or something. Sorceress my foot." Cloud grumbled, feeling very angry at the world today for some reason. Inside he felt like something was wrong, and he had no reason to be this mean to everyone. Of course, that didn't help his mood. It only made him grumpier.

Squall's hand reached for his gunblade. "You know what? I'm really tired of your attitude, Cloud. I don't care if you don't believe me, but I am not going to stand here and let you try to ruin my life, you jerk."

Cloud turned his glare on Squall, his hand reaching behind him for his large buster sword. "Then you'd better stand somewhere else."

It was a stupid line, and Squall knew it. However, before he could tell himself to calm down, something inside snapped, and he was drawing his gunblade and aiming it at Cloud, finger ready on the trigger.

"Squall! Don't!" Tifa yelled, slightly panicked. She didn't know how strong Squall was, but she would bet everything that it wasn't nearly strong enough. Cloud had beaten Sephiroth. The Great General Sephiroth. No one did that... except Cloud, of course.

Cloud chuckled. "So... you wanna fight, huh? Alright. But don't come crying to me when you're missing limbs." He gave an evil grin and pulled out his Buster blade, leveling it at Squall.

"Not like anyone will listen, but I highly advise against this fight." Vincent mumbled from the side, figuring a fight between the two was inevitable, especially with the mood Cloud was in.

Vincent's words were mostly correct. The only one who listened was Tifa, and she was biting her lip nervously, torn with indecision. She couldn't decide between letting the two fight a bit, like boys often do, or doing her best to stop Cloud. She hesitated too long, however, since the next moment Cloud was swinging his sword at Squall's head, and the harsh sound of metal hitting metal rang out.

The minute Squall blocked Cloud's sword, he regretted picking the fight. He considered himself on the upper range of the strength scale, but Cloud was probably at the top. Luckily, the strong ones were usually the stupid ones. At least, that's what Squall hoped.

Cloud glared at Squall angrily, but it soon turned into a smirk when he felt how weak Squall's resistance was. The skinny little punk had no idea what he had just gotten himself into. He pulled his sword away from Squall's odd blade, and swung it again, this time at waist level. Squall jumped away, barely avoiding getting hit by the monstrous blade. Cloud pressed his attack, moving forward and forcing Squall to dodge even more, or risk getting sliced in half.

Vincent sighed and said to Tifa, "We need to intervene soon, or Squall is going to be staring at himself."

Shaking the gruesome image from her head, Tifa asked worriedly, "But, how are we going to stop Cloud? We don't want to hurt him."

"That may not be an option." Vincent replied, pulling his gun out of its holster.

"No Vincent! Don't shoot him. I'll try and talk-" Tifa protested, but was cut off by a gunshot.

Vincent looked at his gun for a minute, making sure it wasn't his, then looked up and saw Cloud holding his shoulder, and staring in amazement at Squall's smoking sword.

Author's notes: Sorry it's short, and that it took so long to post. I ran out of inspiration and had to play FF8 for a few hours to get it back... and that was after weeks of putting it off. I'll try to make the next one more prompt!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters... etc.

Author's Notes: Thank you for the reviews... hopefully this one will be longer! I'm trying, but I think my muse went on vacation from being overworked or something... Anyway, I'll do my best to make this one longer!

Chapter 5

Cloud couldn't believe it. The little punk had actually shot him! His eyes narrowed in fury, and he tossed his sword aside, wanting to pound the man into the ground, and then slice him in half.

Squall readied his blade, again facing Cloud, this time a bit nervously. Cloud had thrown away his huge sword for some reason, and looked ready to murder him.

Cloud charged in, dodging another bullet from Squall's odd sword, swinging a fist that Squall barely managed to block. That was one of the advantages of Squall's gunblade, it was far more maneuverable than Cloud's massive sword due to its smaller size. Cloud continued swinging furiously, finally managing to connect to Squall's face, sending the teen flying.

"Alright! That's enough!" Tifa yelled, after seeing Squall fly a few feet and then roll on the ground a few more feet after the impact of Cloud's punch. "Cloud, stop this!" She ran to the prone Squall, protecting the fallen teen.

Cloud glared down at Tifa, angry that she would interrupt their fight. "Move it, Tifa, or I'll hit you too." He growled, raising a fist.

Tifa's fighting spirit picked up at that moment, tired of being suppressed by the motherly worry. "Go ahead and try it." She said, raising her own fists.

"How about none of you fight? That would make life much easier. Cloud, relax, or I'll shoot." Vincent threatened, his gun aimed at Cloud's left temple.

"You wouldn't. I know you too well, Vince." Cloud smirked, and the smirk left as Vincent cocked his gun.

"Cloud, I view the safety of the weak much more important than the safety of the strong." Vincent replied calmly. "Now relax and promise you won't fight, and I won't shoot."

Squall stirred, having passed out for a moment. He stirred early enough to hear Vincent's words, however, and realized that the stupid vampire had just called him weak. He gritted his teeth and sat up, seeing stars of pain. His head felt like it was going to split in two, and he couldn't see clearly out of his left eye.

Tifa's face swam into his range of vision, much closer than he wanted it to be.

"Squall? Are you okay?" Tifa asked worriedly. His eye was swiftly blackening, and he had a bloody nose. "Let me help you get cleaned up." She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and grabbed a canteen to wet the cloth with cold water.

Squall would normally protest being taken care of like a weakling, but his head was aching too much to care, and he couldn't protest moving away a bit when the cold water touched his tender nose and eye.

"Ooh... sorry, Squall." Tifa apologized, trying to be as gentle as possible. "Now, I want you to hold this rag up to your eye, so it doesn't swell as much." She moved her hand and let Squall take care of it.

Cloud sighed. "Fine. I'll leave the wimp alone, for now. If he picks a fight again, though, I'm not holding back."

"Good enough." Vincent replied, removing his gun from Cloud's temple, and putting it away.

Tifa cautiously approached Cloud. "We've got to get the bullet out of your shoulder... or it could get infected and stuff."

Cloud sighed, and said "I'll take care of it. Just leave me alone, Tifa." He moved away and picked up his sword, kicking hard at a rock for good measure.

Tifa bit her lip worriedly, but didn't follow the now mopey/angry Cloud.

Vincent muttered in her ear, "Leave him for now. He'll return to being himself in a while." Tifa jumped in surprise, but nodded and took Vincent's advice.

The next day, Squall woke to a light that was much brighter than he wanted it to be. His headache was receding, as was his black eye, but that didn't make him feel better since it still hurt.

"Squally... wake up, Squally." Rinoa's voice said, shaking him gently.

"Ugh... Rinoa? I'm back?" He asked, drowsily, trying to get his eyes to focus.

"What do you mean, silly? You never left." Rinoa said sweetly, a hint of confusion in her voice.

He finally managed to get his eyes to focus, and instead of seeing Rinoa's face, he saw the Sorceress'. "You! What are you doing here?"

The sorceress giggled, still using Rinoa's voice. "I'm here to wake you, Squally. My, you're slow in the mornings, aren't you?"

Despite his headache, Squall sat up instantly and moved away from her. "Get away from me! Or better yet, take me back to my own world! You have no reason to keep me here!"

"On the contrary, Squally. I find you very amusing. Watching you... it's a lot of fun." The sorceress giggled, now using her own voice.

"Why can't you watch me on my own world?" Squall demanded.

"Because you wouldn't be your true self there, Squally. You've got too many friends. It would be far too easy for you. I like watching you here a lot better."

"Why watch me at all? Why do you care what I act like!" Squall yelled, starting to get truly angry and annoyed.

"Well... it seems rather silly to just tell you, don't you think? I think I'll just wait for you to earn it. I'll be seeing you around, Squally." The sorceress smiled and disappeared.

"Wait!" Squall yelled out, extending a hand to her, but he was too late. She was gone. He cursed and slammed his fist on the ground.

"What's the matter, Squall?" Tifa asked, coming over with food.

"What! Didn't you see? The sorceress... she was just here." Squall explained angrily, glaring at where the sorceress was moments ago.

"I... see..." Tifa said, smiling nicely at him, then turning away, worried. She wondered if he was hallucinating, or if it happened often.

Squall punched the ground again, then ate the food that Tifa gave him.

Tifa walked cautiously over to where Cloud was currently sleeping. "Cloud? Cloud... I have breakfast for you..." She shook him gently.

Cloud woke up, and clutched his left arm. "Ugh... Tifa? I'm sorry for what happened yesterday..."

"It's okay... are you, though? You look like you're in pain. Is it your shoulder?" Tifa asked, motherly instinct returning.

"Uh... yeah..." He lied, even though it was his right shoulder that was shot, and he was clearly holding his left arm. "I'll be okay, though. Don't worry about it, Tifa."

She sighed. "Okay. Here's some breakfast, and be careful." She gave him food.

Vincent came back from gathering water for everyone. "After everyone eats, let's go. We're not too far from Junon."

Author's Notes: Okay... this was up lots quicker! The next chapter should be interesting... and hopefully I'll get it up quickly. Read and review please! Thanks all!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own them, etc.

Author's notes: Okay... I'm trying. I made sure to add more of the other characters, as requested. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 6

Squall didn't know how long Vincent thought was a short period of time, but if two and a half weeks was it, then he'd hate to see a long period of time. It took them two and a half weeks to get to Junon, the port city with a ferry that would allow them to cross to the other continent where Nibelheim and ShinRa's mansion were located.

Everyone was actually happy to see the ugly and polluted port city; especially after traveling through unforgiving wasteland, swamplands, over mountains, and across wide plains, all having the extra bonus of being crowded with monsters. The monsters were easy enough, even for Squall, but rather annoying.

Cloud felt especially happy to see Junon. His geostigma was bothering him, making his arm ache, but he didn't want Tifa to know, if at all possible. It had already messed with his mind once, making him act far angrier than he felt, and he really didn't want to hurt anyone else. There was no telling what it could make him do next.

Vincent lead the way into Junon, walking next to Squall, while Tifa and Cloud followed behind. Tifa was worried for Cloud's sake. Her inner maternal instinct told her Cloud was in pain, but she couldn't just ask him about it directly, since that would just irritate him. He didn't like feeling pampered, she'd learned. He was stubbornly independent to the point of stupidity.

"Cloud, are you okay?" Tifa asked, figuring she wouldn't get an honest answer and that Cloud would just be annoyed, but she might as well ask anyway.

"I'm fine, Tifa." Cloud replied shortly. "Vincent, when does the next boat leave?" He asked the cloaked man who was studying the schedule.

"Soon... we need to board now." Vincent answered, walking right onto the boat.

Cloud quickly bought tickets, though it didn't seem that anyone was going to challenge Vincent's boarding onto the ship without one. He wasn't looking forward to the boat ride, since motion sickness added to geostigma did not sound like a pleasant experience. _Oh well... it can't be helped._ He sighed to himself, and boarded.

Even Squall noticed Cloud's suddenly melancholy mood, but he decided he really didn't care enough to ask anyone about it. He walked around the ship until he found a spot to stand in that he was satisfied was sufficiently out of the way of everyone. Lost in thought staring at the ocean, he didn't hear Cloud coming up behind him, and jumped when Cloud said his name. "Huh? What?" Squall asked, whirling around to face the blonde haired man.

Cloud looked decidedly pale, making Squall vaguely wonder if Cloud got seasick, and if he should move away from the rail, and quickly. However, once Cloud made his request, it didn't seem necessary. "Squall, I would really appreciate it if you'd train with me. I need something to get my mind off the boat rocking, and you're the one who seems to need the training the most."

Deciding to ignore the slight insult on his part, and go for something far more interesting, Squall nodded and said, "Sure, I guess."

Cloud gestured to an open area on the deck. "The captain says we can train there, but no killing each other, and no destroying his ship, meaning swords and bullets only."

Squall shrugged. "Whatever. I'll play by the rules." He vaguely wondered if the captain of the ship knew just how big Cloud's sword was, and if he knew how much damage it could do all by itself. But still, it's not like it was his concern.

Soon the two were facing each other, swords raised and ready as they waited for a previously selected crew member to declare the match's start. Tifa watched from her perch above them on the lookout deck, biting her lip worriedly. However, she wasn't quite sure who she should be worried about more. She knew Cloud could take care of himself, and he was definitely stronger than Squall. But he'd been acting strange lately, and not just the anger incident two and a half weeks ago. His geostigma seemed to be getting worse, and if it started reacting while Squall and Cloud were fighting, then Squall could accidentally injure Cloud.

"He will be fine, Tifa. You do not need to worry over him so much. Wait until his geostigma is actually acting to worry." Vincent said calmly, suddenly standing next to Tifa.

"Oh! Vincent! You scared me." Tifa breathed in a deep breath. She still wasn't used to Vincent suddenly appearing next to her. But she did appreciate the comment, though she was sure she wouldn't be able to take his advice. "I'm sorry, Vincent, but I'm going to worry... and that's just the way it goes." She smiled at Vincent briefly before returning her eyes to the now fighting men below.

It was obvious to those who knew Cloud's ability that he was going easy on Squall, but staying just barely above his fighting level so Squall had to struggle a bit.

Squall wasn't sure if he appreciated it or not. It irritated him that Cloud was so much stronger, and that irritation started showing in his fighting as he swung hard directly at Cloud. Cloud easily blocked it with his large sword, then angled it to try and press Squall's sword back at him. In a burst of inspiration, Squall suddenly loosened the pressure, causing Cloud to tilt forward. Squall hooked his blade under the hilt of Cloud's sword and pulled hard. The sword flung out of Cloud's grip, almost hitting a crew member and sliding to rest a good twenty feet away from Cloud. Squall allowed himself a victorious smile at the surprised look on Cloud's face, before he swung his sword back to place it against Cloud's neck. Cloud showed he had a few tricks of his own however. He fell forward completely, dodging Squall's sword, then rolled over and jumped up, now a safe distance from Squall's sword.

"Good job, Squall. You've definitely given yourself the advantage." Cloud said honestly, raising his fists and readying himself for his next move.

Squall nodded, and raised his sword, ready to charge. It looked like Cloud was still willing to fight, and if he thought that he could win without a weapon, Squall was ready to show him wrong. He couldn't be that much weaker than Cloud.

Authors Notes: Oooookay... Wow. That was WAY too long! I missed writing this story, to be honest. Sorry I didn't update! I really really really apologize. I have about a million excuses, none that you want to hear, I'm sure, but the main one is finals. Forgive a college girl for studying. I REALLY want to continue writing this, and I plan on doing so. Sorry for the long break! Next time, finish with Cloud and Squall's "fight"!


End file.
